ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s top court on Thursday rejected the long-awaited review of an order acquitting the men who gang-raped Mukhtaran Mai on the orders of a village council in June 2002.
Mai was allegedly attacked to settle a matter of village honor, as decided by a panchayat, or local council. She was then paraded naked through her village. She brought a case against 14 of her attackers.
In August 2002, an anti-terrorism court sentenced six of Mai’s attackers to death and released the remaining eight. Three years later, the Lahore High Court acquitted five of the six convicts and reduced the sentence of the sixth to life imprisonment, citing lack of evidence.
Mai appealed the verdict in the Supreme Court which upheld the Lahore court’s decision in 2011. She then filed a review against the Supreme Court’s order which the court threw out on Thursday on what it said were technical grounds.
“Only a mistake [or mistakes] in a ruling can be highlighted [for reconsideration] in a review petition,” the local Dawn newspaper said, quoting Justice Gulzar Ahmed as saying in the courtroom. However, he added that the points made in Mai’s application could be used to file a separate case.
The 2011 ruling by Pakistan’s Supreme Court meant all but one of the 14 men charged with attacking Mai in 2002 have walked free.
Mai says she was attacked as a punishment because her brother — who was 12 at the time — was judged to have offended the honor of a powerful clan by allegedly having an affair with one of its women.
Pakistani women rarely speak out after violent assault or rape, fearing the shame it will bring on them and their families. Mai’s decision to speak out has earned her widespread recognition.
Mai started the Mukhtar Mai Women’s Welfare Organization to help support and educate Pakistani women and girls with money she received from the government and from donations.
Pakistan court rejects rape victim Mukhtaran Mai’s petition against acquittals’ order
Pakistan court rejects rape victim Mukhtaran Mai’s petition against acquittals’ order
- Mai was gang-raped on the instructions of a village council in June 2002 to settle a matter of alleged honor
- She brought a case against 14 attackers, all but one of them have since been acquitted
Pakistan seizes over 21,000 rounds of ammunition at Afghan border crossing
- Customs officials intercept arms shipment at Torkham amid heightened border security
- Seizure comes amid an ongoing border closure after Pakistan-Afghanistan skirmishes
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani authorities said on Tuesday they seized more than 21,000 rounds of arms and ammunition at the Torkham border crossing with Afghanistan amid persistent security challenges along the volatile frontier separating the two countries.
The seizure was made during routine cargo screening at the customs station in Torkham, where officials flagged a suspicious vehicle, bearing registration number TAH-027, which arrived from Afghanistan and was shifted to a terminal for scanning, according to a statement from the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).
A subsequent physical inspection uncovered submachine-gun bullets and rifle cartridges concealed in the vehicle, the statement added.
“Pakistan Customs authorities at Torkham foiled a major attempt to smuggle arms and ammunition into Pakistan, seizing over 21,000 rounds of SMG and rifle cartridges along with other arms,” the FBR said.
“This incident is being treated as a deliberate and organized attempt to undermine public safety and national security,” it continued, adding that a criminal case had been registered and further legal proceedings were underway.
Authorities said customs officials were coordinating with other law enforcement agencies to investigate the attempted smuggling, without providing details on the origin or intended destination of the weapons.
The seizure comes amid strained relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan, with the two neighbors having witnessed border closures and security clashes along their frontier last year, disrupting trade and movement and prompting heightened scrutiny of cross-border traffic.
Torkham is one of the busiest crossings between the two countries and a key transit point for commercial goods.
Pakistan’s revenue authorities said they remained committed to curbing smuggling and safeguarding national revenue.
